Confessions Under StarSpeckled Skies
by WadeWells
Summary: Sometimes truth opens a flood-gate of realities.


**Confessions Under Star-Speckled Skies**

A/N: This is something I wrote about a year ago. Took a look at it again and decided to post it. Loosely based on the Devil's Due Comic.

Enjoy…..

The night breeze whistled a soft lullaby and the stars hummed a tune as they sparkled against the night sky. The music of nature filled Keith that evening as he gazed into Arus' tranquil night. During the war against the Drules, Keith found solace on those rare peaceful hours of darkness where silence felt like a luxury rather than a comfort.

Breathing in the night air, laid against a massive stone by the lake, he let his mind wonder. He journeyed back to a life so distant, so unfamiliar, it somehow seemed an illusion in his head, but he knew he had lived it.

Keith thought about her, about the life he lost and left behind. He wondered why he didn't miss that life; why his current conditions didn't look so grim or bleak despite the destruction, the death and the chaos he saw around him day by day. He thought about why losing _this_ life seemed more painful to him than losing his last one.

"A penny for your thoughts?" A voice come close to him. Keith turned and watched her approach him.

"Princess, you shouldn't walk around unguarded this late at night." The commander immediately scolded her. He hadn't meant to, but lately the urge to protect her felt more powerful to him, more necessary.

"I'm sorry," Allura looked down at the ground, "I saw you leave the castle and followed. Curiosity is a very dangerous characteristic of mine." She shook her head. "I didn't mean any harm."

He sighed; lately they seemed to want each others company more frequently. Together, they felt stronger, they felt one. At least that's what Keith felt. "That's all right princess. I don't mind, it's just that I rather you tell me when your curiosity peaks so I'm prepared for it." He smiled slightly.

Allura nodded, "I will, I'm sorry. I'll walk back to the castle." She began to turn when he stopped her.

"Well, see, there you go again. I can't have you walk back on your own either." He told her. Keith paused for a moment before he asked her, "Would you mind keeping me company for a while?"

"No, not at all!" She smiled delighted at the request. Allura walked up to his resting place and sat down next to him.

He then turned to her, "Where did you hear that phrase?"

"What phrase?"

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Allura laughed. "Oh, Lance asked me that once. It sounded so strange when I first heard it, especially since I had never heard of or seen a penny. I still don't understand it. What does a penny have to do with your thoughts?"

That made him smile, "How about I tell you later? Right now, I'd like to just enjoy tonight. Do you mind?"

"No, we rarely have nights like these anymore." The princess looked up at the sky. Her hair blew with the wind and her sweet vanilla perfume hit him with such ease and strength, it nearly intoxicated him. "You seem to enjoy them."

Keith nodded, "Yes, I've never seen nights like these. New York has so many lights, so much noise. The stars disappear. It's never this quiet."

"Do you miss New York?" She asked.

"I miss it sometimes, but lately…I don't know…it feels…foreign."

"What do you miss the most?" Allura looked at him with a gaze full of interest and curiosity.

"I miss…" Keith sighed, he hadn't spoken her name out loud for so long, "Beverly."

The princess could tell that took a lot out of him, "Beverly? Was she your mother?"

"My fiancée."

The statement surprised her. He could tell. Her blue emerald eyes widened and he thought a gleam of hurt in them. "You have a fiancée?"

"Had." Keith nodded. "I lost her in a plane crash a month and a half before our wedding; two years ago exactly."

"I'm so sorry." The princess took his hand with such natural poise and affection, he knew she meant her condolences; her grief for him, genuine.

He squeezed her hand lightly in appreciation, "Thank you. That's what I thought about before you came. I thought about her, about what my life with her…should she have lived."

Allura kept her silence, not wanting to interrupt him. In the time she had known Keith Kogane, he never revealed so much about himself. She couldn't fathom, at the moment, how open he allowed his thoughts to reach her.

Keith didn't let go of her hand, "I used to miss my life with her; I still do. But somehow, I feel different about it now."

"Why is that?" She dared asked.

"Because I found…something I haven't had in a long time. Purpose."

"Voltron gave you purpose." She smiled; content that he found some happiness within what looked like a long war ahead.

Keith shook his head, "Not Voltron." He remained quiet for a long moment before gathering the courage to speak again. With a sigh, he looked at her with passion filled eyes, "You."

Allura felt she stopped breathing. "Me?"

"You gave me purpose princess. The oath that I took to protect you changed me without even realizing it."

_Ah...the oath. Protection_. _That's all._ Disappointment panged her heart. "Thank you for always protecting me." The princess managed to tell him.

"You don't understand," Keith shook his head when he looked into her disenchanted eyes, "it's not only about protecting you," he replied. "It's about loving you." Finishing his statement in a mere whisper.

Her smile gradually formed on her lips. With a gentle and soft sigh, the princess found herself asking him, "Loving me? You love me Keith?"

The commander came closer to her. With his other hand he gently caressed her cheek. "I loved Beverly; part of me always will. But my heart, my life…belongs to you…Allura. The oath not only means protecting you from Lotor or this damn war, it means protecting your heart, your soul, the passion, the fire you have. I love you Allura."

She couldn't believe it. _A dream, it must be. But Gods! Please, let it be real!_

"I can't imagine my life without you now. My love for you keeps me…alive…happy." She ran her fingers through his long ebony hair. "I've loved you forever Keith. In my dreams, it has always been and forever will be you."

And with that, the two allowed themselves to be taken by the wind, the stars, and the night. With a soft, gentle, and consuming kiss, they opened the gateway into their new journey.


End file.
